


you can sit beside me when the world comes down

by Aerora



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mask-Impeded Makeouts, at least half of this is probably Jossed by now, no spoilers for Back Cover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:59:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9293390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerora/pseuds/Aerora
Summary: Ava and Invi take a little time off.





	

It's not like they planned this, really.

It's just—this is the first free afternoon they've both had in a while, and Ava's been throwing all of her time into training her newly-formed Union while Invi's been off with Ira trying to find a better answer tucked away in the pages of the Book - it's been ages since they were able to just sneak away and spend time together. 

They'd only met up a few times on their own - just simple bonding after training sessions, a friendship spurred mostly by shared experiences and their being the only girls of the group - before their Master had cautioned them all against the trouble that forming alliances would cause. They'd been careful to keep a certain distance, since then, but lately Ava's been finding herself drawn to Invi more and more - the cadence of her voice, the way she bites her lower lip when she's considering something, those few times when she's gone without her scarf. It's hard for her to tell what Invi's thinking when she can't see the other girl's face, but Ava thinks she's starting to understand.

She hadn't been sure that she'd been reading Invi correctly, at first, but, well. When she'd suggested another meeting, Invi hadn't refused. And it had turned out that Invi had been shy, rather than uninterested.

(It's not an alliance, Ava reminds herself. They don't talk about their Unions, or the Books, or share information they shouldn't be sharing. She's sure that friendship - or even the _something_ that they've been building - can't have been what the Master thought was so dangerous.)

The building they've been meeting in is old and empty and run-down, nearer the edge of town than anything else; it was a café once, probably, but that must have been a long time ago, and it's been left to its own devices ever since. There are wide gaps in the rafters now, where the early-morning sun filters through, making up for the lack of lamps. But there are tables and chairs, and very few passersby to look through the remaining windows and notice two masked girls leaning into each other in the light of one of those sunbeams.

Ava's not entirely sure how they'd gotten here from arguing lightheartedly about whether or not Invi actually saw Ira forget about his mask and collide horn-first with a doorway, but she's hardly complaining. Invi's got one arm looped around her waist, her other hand intertwined with Ava's. She's cuddlier than Ava would have expected. It's... nice. For all that she's the most approachable, that's not the same as having people she's actually _close_ to.

Ava reaches up, Invi bending to meet her, her free hand cradling the back of the taller girl's head gently. There's a clink of metal somewhere and a strange sensation of impact, and Ava realizes that there's something stopping their lips from connecting.

"Wait, wait," Invi says, and there's a faint laugh in her voice. " _Ava._ Your mask."

"Oh," she says, and draws back to try and adjust it. She's still getting used to wearing it, even though it's been a while - they all are. Her own isn't as liable to hit herself in the face as Gula's has already proven to be ( _"That's what you get for insisting on the fangs,"_ she'd told him, gleefully), but it sticks out far enough to be inconvenient more often than she would have expected.

It shouldn't be a surprise that kissing is one of those things it interferes with, but today is just full of unexpected developments, apparently.

"How do I..." she trails off, breaking into a thoughtful frown at the uncooperative angle of her mask.

"Maybe like this?" Invi asks, covers Ava's hand that's fiddling with the mask briefly in order to help her angle it to the side. Their faces are still only a few inches apart; something about the contact feels even more intimate than their nearly kissing had been. Ava wonders, briefly, how visible the rush of warmth to her cheeks is to Invi, shadowed by both mask and mantle as it is. Invi's frowning a little, now, but she's paying more attention to the mask than to Ava herself anyway. "It's not adjustable, is it?"

She starts to shake her head, remembers that that might not be a good idea when Invi's so close that her mask's muzzle could hit her in the face. Again. "There's just clasps that hold it on. Here, see?" Ava moves her hand away to give Invi better access.

Invi's biting her lip gently, apparently absorbed in thought, and—oh. _That's_ even more distracting than it had been before.

"It works the same way mine does, then," she says. "I thought, since yours sticks out farther..." She runs her fingers along the side where it connects to the jaw piece, brushing against Ava's skin in the process. "Maybe this isn't going to work."

"No, it's fine," Ava says, a little more quickly than she'd meant to. "I'll just. Take it off."

Invi pulls her hand back from Ava's mask - it almost looks like she wants to take a step backward, though she stays put. "But the Master said we shouldn't—"

"So close your eyes," Ava says, reaches up under her hood to pop the latch that attaches her mask to the rest of her helmet. "I want to kiss you."

She sounds more cavalier about it than she actually is - their Master _had_ been clear that their faces should remain hidden, even from each other, for their own safety. But still, Ava thinks, it'll be fine; even if she believed there was a traitor among them, she's sure it would never be Invi.

"Ava," Invi starts, then breaks off. Opens her mouth to speak, then closes it, like she can't get her thoughts in order. "This... isn't a good idea."

"I won't tell if you won't," she says with a soft smile, reaches for Invi's hand again with the one not holding her mask on. "Besides, I trust you." Something about that brings her up short, and Invi just freezes, letting Ava take her hand. She doesn't say anything for another long moment, finally sighing quietly.

"This is still a bad idea, you know," Invi tells her, resting her hand on the side of Ava's mask. "But they're closed."

"I knew you'd see things my way," Ava says, and Invi lets out a soft huff of laughter. She undoes her mask, grateful that it's at least quick to remove, and sets it aside on the nearby table, turning back to Invi. 

For a moment, she doesn't do anything - just... looks at Invi, without her gaze being filtered through the yellow-tinted eyes of her own mask. It lasts long enough that she earns an inquisitive hum from the other girl, before she lifts herself up on the balls of her feet and presses her lips to Invi's. It's not the best, as kisses go - Invi's mask doesn't get in the way as badly as Ava's, but it's still awkward when her nose bumps against the edge of the snake's head. She pulls back for a moment, murmurs a soft _"can you tilt your head a little more?"_ to Invi, who obliges. Not having metal digging into her skin definitely helps. 

So does Invi's hand on the back of her neck, guiding her back into the kiss. 

It's easier to lose herself in it, after that. Invi's lips are warm and soft, and one kiss turns into a short series of pecks turns into a fumbling, deeper affair. Ava's more than a little breathless by the time Invi finally pulls away to breathe properly.

"We should probably... stop," Invi says, and Ava grins, because the flush on her face is easy to see even with the mask covering half of it. "Before anyone wonders where we are and comes looking..."

"No one knows about this place," Ava points out, but Invi's not wrong. She's not even sure how long it's been, but they'd spent a few hours talking, she thinks. She leans forward to give Invi one last quick peck before she steps away, reaching for her mask to settle it back into place.

"Mask's back on," she says, after a moment spent more on trying to get her hair out of the way than on rehooking the straps, and Invi nods. 

"It _is_ getting late," says Invi, and Ava gets the impression that she's blinking owlishly under the mask, trying to regain her bearings. "Ready to head back?"

"I am if you are," Ava says, stretching a little. "If anyone asks, we lost track of time arguing about whose training method is better." 

Invi snorts lightly, turning to make her way out of the café as she rearranges her hood from where it'd gotten pushed back. "No one would believe that it took me this long to convince you mine's better."

Ava falls into step next to her, gently elbowing her in the side. "Alright, then you can come up with the excuse next time," she says, but she's laughing.

Invi opens the door, and Ava pauses, glancing back at the room they'd left.

"Wait, Invi," she says. "There's something I forgot..."

"I didn't realize you brought anything," says Invi, turning to face her again. "What is it?"

"This," says Ava, and leans in to press a quick kiss to the tip of Invi's nose. Their masks don't even collide, this time.

The way that Invi stops dead again, then very _pointedly_ draws her scarf up to cover her face has Ava laughing, so hard that she knows it was definitely worth it.


End file.
